and many more benefits!

Find us on Facebook

GMAT Club Timer Informer

Hi GMATClubber!

Thank you for using the timer!
We noticed you are actually not timing your practice. Click the START button first next time you use the timer.
There are many benefits to timing your practice, including:

With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie; travelers to Egypt can still stay at the Old Cataract Hotel, the model for the hotel in one of Christie's most famous books.

A With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie

B Agatha Christie used her travels with her archaeologist husband to inspire several mystery novels

C Because her husband was an archaeologist, Agatha Christie was able to use their travels as inspiration for several of her mystery novels

D Together with her archaeologist husband, Agatha Christie was inspired to incorporate their travel into several of her mystery novels

E Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband served as inspiration for several of her mystery novels

Confused as hell. Explanation would be great.

I thought it was D? Can anyone explain why that isn't it? Thanks in advanced.

With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie; travelers to Egypt can still stay at the Old Cataract Hotel, the model for the hotel in one of Christie's most famous books.

A With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie Unclear - what is "with her archaeologist husband"?

B Agatha Christie used her travels with her archaeologist husband to inspire several mystery novels Not quite correct - you can't "use travels to inspire"

C Because her husband was an archaeologist, Agatha Christie was able to use their travels as inspiration for several of her mystery novels She wasn't inspired because her husband was an archaeologist, she was able to travel because of it.

D Together with her archaeologist husband, Agatha Christie was inspired to incorporate their travel into several of her mystery novels This says that Agatha and her husband were both inspired together to write her mystery novels

E Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband served as inspiration for several of her mystery novels Correct - "Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband" is the subject, "served as inspiration for several of her mystery novels" is the predicate.

Confused as hell. Explanation would be great.

I thought it was D? Can anyone explain why that isn't it? Thanks in advanced.

devashish wrote:

Is'nt there Possesove Poison in Option E ?

Quote:

Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband served as inspiration for several of her mystery novels

I have the same question.....Isn't there a possesive poison. "Christie's travels ....... her".....Is it a correct comparison. It shoul be " Christy.......her".So I chose option 'D'.Experts please explain. _________________

I have the same question.....Isn't there a possesive poison. "Christie's travels ....... her".....Is it a correct comparison. It shoul be " Christy.......her".So I chose option 'D'.Experts please explain.

I'm not sure what "possessive poison" means, but I explained why (D) is wrong above. The phrase "Together with her archaeologist husband" if followed immediately by "Agatha Chritie was inspired." This means that Agatha Christie and her husband were both inspired to write her novels, not that she and her husband traveled together.

There's no comparison in (E), so I'm not sure what you're referring to. But I think you're misunderstanding the use of "travels" in this problem. It's not being used as a verb - "Agatha Christie traveled with her husband" - but as a noun. Her travels, which she enjoyed with her husband, inspired several of her novels. If you change it to what you said, you'd have, "Agatha Christie travels with her archaeologist husband served as inspiration for several of her mystery novels."

I had a big confusion with this question when I saw it for the first time as well, and still am not convinced about the validity of (E).

Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband ...

I think in this case the usage of "her" is ambiguous, since it cannot refer to Agatha Christie. The only noun in the sentence is Agatha Christie's travels, which cannot be "her".

I think what I am trying to say is that the meaning of this sentence is not clear if we stick to this usage. Think of it having one of two meanings "AC's travels with AC's husband" & "AC's travels with some-3rd-person's husband". There is no reason to believe the sentence means one or the other without assuming that it means one of these. _________________

I had a big confusion with this question when I saw it for the first time as well, and still am not convinced about the validity of (E).

Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband ...

I think in this case the usage of "her" is ambiguous, since it cannot refer to Agatha Christie. The only noun in the sentence is Agatha Christie's travels, which cannot be "her".

I think what I am trying to say is that the meaning of this sentence is not clear if we stick to this usage. Think of it having one of two meanings "AC's travels with AC's husband" & "AC's travels with some-3rd-person's husband". There is no reason to believe the sentence means one or the other without assuming that it means one of these.

"Her" refers to Agatha Christie. "Her travels with her husband served as inspiration..."

With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie; travelers to Egypt can still stay at the Old Cataract Hotel, the model for the hotel in one of Christie's most famous books.

A With her archaeologist husband, travels inspired several mystery novels by Agatha Christie

B Agatha Christie used her travels with her archaeologist husband to inspire several mystery novels

C Because her husband was an archaeologist, Agatha Christie was able to use their travels as inspiration for several of her mystery novels

D Together with her archaeologist husband, Agatha Christie was inspired to incorporate their travel into several of her mystery novels

E Agatha Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband served as inspiration for several of her mystery novels

Confused as hell. Explanation would be great.

I thought it was D? Can anyone explain why that isn't it? Thanks in advanced.

This is a good question and pretty tricky one at that. You really have to consider the answer choices carefully.We can safely discount answer choices A, B, and C.Between D and E, we have to consider the principles of concision and redundancy. E is the correct answer. I chose E because of two reasons: a) "Together with" makes it a redundant phrase. Either use "with" or "together". (b) D is simply more wordier. Moreover, the use of the word "incorporate" is incorrect in this context. You do not incorporate your travels into novels, rather you get inspired by your travels to put them in novels.E simply sounds perfect and is more concise.